Scientists in the US announced a major breakthrough in their attempts to recreate nuclear fusion.
The breakthrough by a team at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab could bring the world a step closer to a potential source of near-limitless clean energy
For the first time they announced that a fusion reactor has produced more energy than was used to trigger the reaction and this could mean in the future eliminating the need for fossil fuels, and without any radioactive waste by creating unlimited clean renewable energy.
Fusion is the process that powers the sun and stars and the scientific quest has been developing since at least the 1930s
Fusion works when nuclei of two atoms are subjected to extreme heat of 100 million degrees Celsius or higher leading them to fuse into a new larger atom, giving off enormous amounts of energy.
Scientists used the world’s largest laser to create a fusion reaction that mimicked those that power the sun and the stars.
The US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called the breakthrough “one of the most impressive scientific feats.”
The scientists’ findings were released after days of buzz among physicists and clean-power executives about the pending announcement and its implications for the energy landscape
